fredk

Warning; thread drift; we used to call that a 'spliced knot'. A 'blood knot' was also called a 'slip knot', 'fishermans knot' or 'Archers knot' - it was made* by turning round or thru the item, 3 to 7 twists of the tail round the main part and the tail end fed thru the loop by the item and the last twist (afair), then pulled tight. Its could be easily loosened. I was told by a St.John paramedic that it was called a 'blood knot' as it was used as a tourniquet knot, and could be loosened and re-tightened quickly * its so long since I've tied it I probably have it wrong

I've been doing a lot of simple lacing and my thoughts turned to some other laced items. In the early to last quarter of the 1970s there were many terrorist prisoners in Ulster's (Northern Ireland) two main prisons The prisoners made leather goods, mainly laced together. The wives, girlfriends and mothers came round the houses selling these items for the benefit of the prisoners. Of course it was not compulsory to buy anything but one had to be careful so one did buy. I can't remember how many wallets I ended up buying, one each time the WGMs came around. The items were not expensive; about £1 for a wallet and £2.50 for a handbag (one of my sisters bought several) (wages were about £25 per week) Even then I knew the items were made from kits. Now I've become familiar with the Tandy kits and have been wondering The items made were; wallets, billfolds, handbags, purses, knife sheaths. holsters ( yes, really) coasters and other things. Some were plain and some were decorated, with the 'Sheridan'(?) type designs or stamped. But all the items were laced together thru round holes I now have some old Tandy catalogue issues and I see the same things in them Considering that the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and the prison service bought their weapons and body armour from the USA did Tandy supply the leather kits, or did they come from a company in Great Britain? Just wondering Discuss PS; Until recently I would not lace anything I was making because some people still remember the prisoners work and assumed I had been a terrorist prisoner!

I rarely use a deglazer. But I often redye leather. As a pre-dye prep I'd use some cellulose thinners. On a rag, wiped over the boots a couple of times

Be very careful handling those bags. Many moulds are toxic and bad for your health. I'd advise you to wear rubber or latex gloves and a mouth & nose mask

I've found set #2. They were in a box inside the car I'll get them sorted out, re-oiled and re-hung outside asap I'm thinking of ending this on the 2 year anniversary. Other than darkening and some change in the leather temper nothing is happening. No rot, or nuffin. If it hasn't happened in 2 years I doubt it'll happen in 3, or 4 . . . .

Alls been fine and normal at my end

remember the sugar dispensers? you tipped it up and it gave 1 serving of sugar for your tea/coffee. I hard of other putting salt in them. I never did it tho

We went a step further; in chippies we also drank the vinegar and replaced it with water and. . . . . we weren't so 'wee' when we stopped doing these things

The Roman soldier's groin protector was the original 'kilt'. It looked like these, but of course much larger

I use model paint all the time. Never had adhesion problems, except in trying to remove it! I use Humbrol & Vallejo mostly

No, like regular double-sided tape but in sheets. I have A4 and A5 sizes

If its cheap enough, and in working order or semi-working, I'd buy it

@AaronStand , you should see the workers on other similar videos; no ppe and open toed sandals, or even bare feet, whilst pouring white-hot liquid metal into molds!

Have you tried sheets of double-sided tape. Put it on the leather you are going to cut so it gets cut at the same time. Cut the second protective backing in small sections and peel off these sections, that way you can position it carefully before removing the rest of the backing and sticking it down. Roll a brayer over it a few times I've been using the sheets of d/s tape for some time now and its very handy and with no mess

I came across this video of a sewing machine being built. The carcass of the sewing machine is already made and the video takes it and us right through to the finished working machine. I think its worth a watch. Its being built in a small works somewhere in the likes of Pakistan or Afghanistan, not in a big factory. No 'Health & Safety' in there! The sewing machine parts starts at about 25 min 38 seconds and goes to about 53 min 42 sec

Generally yes. You need at least 2.5mm / 6-7oz

I use a round hole punch to make holes for round lace which I sew on instead of thread. Like this; Its a Makin, aka a knitting belt. I've an order for x number of them Knitters use them in a style of knitting where one knitting needle is poked into one of the holes and held in place by the stuffing (no holes in back, just front). The belt is worn at the waist

I'd forgotten about this Thank you for the pattern Altho, it doesn't seem to have that bit that tips over the forehead

I use the straight slot with lacing. The leather & lace are under great strain and I've never had the slots rip I lace around the pouch on this then its stuffed full of horse hair until no more can fit in. It puts lots of strain on the leather and lacing

Cut your leather oversize, dye and assemble then cut through the layers with a knife to get the project size Wet your leather, as if casing it, apply the dye diluted 1:1. Put on multiple coats until you get the depth of colour you like. This will eliminate the streaks

If you slap some oil/enamel paint over the buckle area of the design, let it dry then polish it off it will leave the paint in the low parts of the engraved design making it stand out more, or as the American would say 'it would pop'

I no longer make belts. I make other things and a half-round punch or die suits my needs. I have many but the items I'm making right now needs a size that I don't have. So I might buy another . . . .

Le Prevo has some Kanga hides in stock. You could cut your own lace or, just a thot; maybe they would do it for you?

Like to see photos of it, if you can

I used regular contact adhesive when I did some re-upholstery work on a few cars. The c/a worked fine, almost too well at times